By Jason Jaacks, Bay Nature
Twelve feet above the Pacific Ocean on the flying bridge of the research vessel Fulmar, Jason Thompson, a volunteer observer with Point Blue Conservation Science, sits at the alert, eyes glued to his binoculars. It is eerily calm — no wind, hardly any swell and no fog — a perfect day for conducting research. Out here, halfway between the Golden Gate and the Farallon Islands, the water and the sky seem to mirror each other.
It is so quiet that I can perfectly hear the words as Thompson mutters them.
“There’s an orca,” he says. His eyes never leave the binoculars, but a beat later, he gets louder. “I’m not even kidding, there’s an orca.” This time, somebody else hears him and, suddenly, the Fulmar is swerving left and the flying bridge fills up with everyone on board — scientists and volunteers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Point Blue and the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Association. The engine cuts and the Fulmar bobs on its own wake.
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